A Reading-based global consulting and engineering company has been awarded a significant contract by Saudi Aramco.

Wood will provide engineering services for Aramco's Southern and Northern Areas gas increments project in Saudi Arabia.

The project is expected to take one million engineering hours to complete and will help Saudi Arabia increase its natural gas production.

Wood will provide project management consultancy services, including pre-front end engineering design (Pre-FEED) and front end engineering design (FEED) for gas facilities in Eastern Saudi Arabia.

The project will also include large-scale onshore gas production and processing facilities.

Craig Shanaghey, Wood's executive president of projects, said: "Natural gas is a key transition fuel that can have an immediate positive impact on the carbon emissions associated with energy production.

"Building on our 30-year relationship with Aramco, we are delighted to support this significant expansion project.

"The Southern and Northern Areas gas increments will meet growing energy and efficiency demands across the globe.

"Our specialist engineering and project delivery teams thrive in solving large scale and complex challenges.

"We look forward to applying our global capability to deliver this world-scale project."

The seven-year project will peak at more than 400 Wood employees, primarily based in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia; Reading, UK; and Chennai, India.

Wood is a global leader in consulting and engineering, delivering solutions to critical challenges in energy and materials markets.